Babies will start practising their language skills from a few months old. They will begin to babble and often say ‘baba’, ‘mama’ and ‘dada’. This all starts by you talking to them. You play a vital role in helping them learn to speak as they will begin to imitate you.
Ways to communicate with your baby
Talk through daily routines with your baby, such as bath time, playtime, lunchtime. Also, try to use child-directed speech to engage with them.
Chat with your baby, even though they can not talk back to you, they understand you are talking to them, and they love hearing your voice.
If English is not your first language, talk to your baby in the language, they would have heard you talking in when they were in the womb.
Try to have eye contact with your baby when you talk to them, and it will let them know you are talking specifically to them. When they babble and make noises respond to them, this shows you are also listening to them.
Read books and talk about the picture, so your baby gets used to reading. Also, watch TV together, they will love watching baby TV (however limited length of time). Sing songs and nursery rhymes such as ‘wind the bobbin up’.
When your baby grows up and starts to talk in sentences, make sure you correct them, so they learn how to pronounce words correctly.
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